Meanwhile, Obama's executive action is designed to tighten the loophole on private gun sales by expanding background checks for all firearms dealers. With these two laws against a backdrop of increased awareness of police shootings, it's sure to be another contentious year for the Second Amendment.

The rise of the gig economy was matched with a rise in advocacy for worker protections, with gig workers looking to have the same rights as employees. This will probably necessitate a change in the standard definition of "employee," but some jurisdictions are already trying to extend labor organization and union rights to gig workers. How courts and legislators decide labor issues will have an enormous legal impact in 2016.

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